Takamaru

Takamaru is a character canidate for SSB4. He is a retro character and a represenative of old school games in Japan and a fit to the "East vs. West" theme rumored by a Namco worker. He's an assist trophy in SSB4, but hey, maybe next time.

Neutral- Takamaru does a quick vertical sword slash. Hitting A does another, and then again does a horizontal sword slash that sends out a short-ranged air slash projectile.

Uptilt- Takamaru swings his katana above his head.

Sidetilt- Takamaru a quick swipe in front of him.

Downtilt- Takamaru does a quick spin with his sword held low.

Upsmash- Takamaru rapidly cuts the Japanese character for Fire above him, leaving its image burning in the air. Multi-hit, one for each stroke of the character, the final one sending the opponent flying skyward.

Sidesmash- Takamaru does a downward vertical slice. If the input is done again, he follows up with a very rapid upward slice, sending the opponent flying diagonally.

Downsmash- Takamaru sheathes his sword and reads a scroll, four fireballs spinning around him and launching opponents horizontally.

Dash- Takamaru does a fast, horizontal slice.

Neutral Air- Takamaru spins once, sword outstretched.

Forward Air- Takamaru thrusts his katana forward.

Up Air- Takamaru holds his sword above his head and spins it like a propeller. Gives him a tiny bit of height upwards.

Down Air- Takamaru points his sword downwards and falls. Can be angled during the fall.

Back Air- Takamaru reverses the grip on his sword and stabs behind him.

B Attacks:

Neutral- Hidden Weaponry: Takamaru reaches into his sleeve, then throws one of three throwing weapons. The weapon is determined by charge time.

-Kunai: Recieved by just tapping the button. Takamaru throws a kunai. It travels fast, but does low damage and doesn't flinch the opponent. Has medium range before it disappears.-Fireball: Recieved by charging a bit before releasing. Takamaru hurls a fireball. It's slower than the kunai and has the shortest range of the three weapons, but it does the most damage and the resultant explosion pops the enemy into the air.-Windmill Shuriken: Received by charging all the way (About three seconds). Takamaru throws an oddly-shaped spinning projectile. The weapon is the slowest moving of the three weapons, but travels full screen and hits multiple times.

Up- Cloak: Hien: Takamaru wraps himself up in a cloak, disappearing. He reappears in the direction the stick is held, casting off the cloak and unleashing a low-damage slash in a sort of a figure 8 around him.

Side- Iaido: Takamaru sheathes his sword, then dashes froward, unleashing a slice as he does. This slice deals no damage or knockback. However, the first opponent Takamaru moves through is "marked". If Takamaru uses his Side B again within ~10 seconds, the opponent will suddenly take moderate damage and get launched backwards. If Takamaru is hit by his marked target (with a non-projectile move), the mark is canceled.

Down- Cloak: Shukuchi: Takamaru wraps himself up in a cloak, disappearing. This acts similarly to the cloaking device in Melee. Invisibility lasts ~8 seconds. The start up animation is identical to that of Cloak: Hien.

Up- Takamaru poses and opens a scroll, four spinning fireballs whirling around the opponent and exploding, launching them upwards.

Down- Takamaru envelopes himself and the opponent in his cloak, causing them both to disappear, before suddenly Takamaru izuna drops the opponent from the top of the screen, bouncing them upwards.

Back- Takamaru disappears, then reappears on the other side of the opponent, back facing them as he sheathes his sword, which sends them flying backwards.

Final Smash: Inazuma Lightning

Takamaru cuts the characters for "Inazuma" into the screen, the kanji crackling with electricity. Then, A quick barrage of random lightning strikes begins to fill the screen, dealing heavy damage and knockback.

Other:

Intro: Takamaru throws off his cloak and gives a respectful bow, before drawing his sword.Idle: Takamaru occasionally sheathes his sword to make sure his hair is in order, before drawing his sword again. Other times he reads a scroll.Taunt 1: Takamaru sits in a kneeling position and sips from a cup of tea.Taunt 2: Takamaru strikes a pose with his sword.Taunt 3: Takamaru cuts the characters for his own name into the air.Win Pose 1: Takamaru cuts the kanji for Victory into the air, then sheathes his sword and bows.Win Pose 2: Takamaru swings his sword at a sinister-looking crystal orb, shattering it, then poses as the glittering remains rain down.Win Pose 3: Takamaru shows off with flashy techniques, before wrapping himself in his cloak and disappearing.Lose Pose: Takamaru sits in a kneeling position and respectfully claps.Kirby Hat: Kirby gains Takamaru's hair.Series Emblem: A simple rendition of a Japanese castleVictory Theme: Stage Clear - Nazo no Murasame Jo